Prosecutors in New York yesterday charged Canadian citizen, Douglas Rennick, with bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling “stemming from his role in processing more than $350 million for Internet gambling companies.”
This case, which is linked to the $30 million fund seizure from Account Services Corporation by the Southern District of New York, claims that between 2007 and June 2009 Rennick opened several accounts at US banks and then “falsely represented that the accounts would be used for such purposes as issuing rebate checks, refund checks, sponsorship checks, affiliate checks and minor payroll processing”.
Rennick was then able to use a bank in Cyprus to transfer $350 million of online gambling money to US residents using corporate businesses he set up which included KJB Financial Corporation, My ATM Online and Alenis Limited. Account Services and Check Payment Financial were also used.
The indictment states that Rennick “provided false and misleading information to US banks about the purpose of the accounts because the banks would not have processed the transactions had they known they were gambling-related.”
If found guilty Rennick could face up to 55 years in prison, $1.75 in fines, as well as the forfeiture of $566 million, which represents the proceeds from his last two years of activities.
Rennick now joins other high profile Canadians charged with transgressing online gambling laws, which include the NETeller co-founders John Lefebvre and Stephen Lawrence who were arrested on conspiracy charges back in 2007.
Canada has more liberal laws relating to gambling but extradition requests are likely to be called for although Rebekah Carmichael, spokesperson for the U. S. Attorney’s Office said: “We have no comment about extradition at this point.”
